Presenting the Slate of Candidates for the 2025-2027 SCA Board of Directors Elections and Appointment of the 2nd Vice President
BY YANNIS APOSTOLOPOULOS, CEO of the Specialty Coffee Association
Dear members of the Specialty Coffee Association around the globe,
Today, it is my pleasure to present the slate of candidates for the 2025-2027 SCA Board of Directors elections. The Nominating Committee, chaired by SCA Board President Pamela Chng, has put forward the following professionals after an extensive interview process with the dozens of SCA members who responded to our call for nominations made in June 2024.
Jon Allen, Founder of Onyx Coffee Lab and 2nd Street Creative Studio
Federico Gallia, CEO of RYOMA MC SPA
Hide Izaki, CEO of Izaki Coffee Holdings Inc.
Sunalini N. Menon, President of Coffeelab Limited
Luiz Roberto Saldanha, Director of Fazenda California, Capricornio Coffees, and Synapses Coffee Education
Jessica Worden, Head of Coffee of GAIL’s Bakery
Yi-Ling Wu, Manager of Beverage Research Institute at King Car Food Industrial Company and Vice Chairman of Taiwan Coffee Association
The SCA Board of Directors consists of 15 volunteer members that serve a 3-year term, supported by the CEO and SCA staff. For this 2024 election, in order to transition to the new staggering of the Board as described in the new Bylaws voted by SCA membership, there will be an election for 7 seats:
2 of those seats will be covered by current Board Directors entering a second term for 3 years from January 1, 2025 to December 31, 2027
2 of those seats will be new Board Directors serving a first term of 3 years from January 1, 2025 to December 31, 2027, with the following role description. Board Director Qualifications - June 2024
2 of those seats will be new Board Directors serving a first term of 2 years from January 1, 2025 to December 31, 2026, with the following role description Board Director Qualifications - June 2024
1 of those seats will be a new Board Director joining the Finance Class serving a first term of 3 years from January 1, 2025 to December 31, 2027, with the following role descriptionFinancial Class - June 2024
I want to say thank you to our 2024 Nominating Committee for the hours of work they have contributed to this process:
Pamela Chng, Board President
Garfield Kerr, Board Vice President
Andrew Tolley, Board 2nd Vice President
Cosimo Libardo, Board Treasurer
Konstantinos Konstantinopoulos, Emeritus Director
Juan Luis Barrios, Emeritus Director
Each year, the Board of Directors elects a 2nd Vice President, who serves an additional term of three years to ensure presidential succession. Nadine Rasch, CEO of Primavera Coffee, has been selected by the board to serve in the role of 2nd Vice President.
In 2025, per the bylaws of the SCA, current 2nd Vice President Andrew Tolley moves into the role of Vice President, and current Vice President Garfield Kerr moves into the role of President of the Board.
Learn more about Nadine Rasch by reading their biography at the bottom of this post. With the election of Nadine as 2nd Vice President, the SCA Board of Directors Officers group in 2025 will be as follows:
Garfield Kerr of Mokha 1450, President
Andrew Tolley of Tolley Coffee & Tea, Vice President
Nadine Rasch of Primavera Coffee, 2nd Vice President
Cosimo Libardo of Nomad Coffee Consulting, Treasurer
What Happens Next in the 2024 Election?
The final 2024 ballot will be announced on October 11. In the event that the number of candidates exceeds the number of open seats, SCA members will take part in a voting process from November 1-30. SCA members will receive their ballots from eBallot, the third-party company that runs our voting process, via email from elections@sca.coffee. Add elections@sca.coffee to your contacts so that the ballot is not marked as spam by your email client. Please help us ensure your ballot is sent to the correct email address by logging in to your member portal here to verify your email address or by contacting us via the contact form at the bottom of our elections page.
As always, thank you for supporting the work of the Specialty Coffee Association and for taking part in this process to elect our leadership. Let’s continue to #makecoffeebetter, together.
YANNIS APOSTOLOPOULOS is the Chief Executive Officer at the Specialty Coffee Association
Meet the Slate of Candidates Proposed by the Nominating Committee
Jon Allen
Founder of Onyx Coffee Lab and 2nd Street Creative Studio
Jon Allen is the founder of Onyx Coffee Lab and 2nd Street Creative Studio. He has wide range of experience across multiple facets of the Specialty Coffee and hospitality sector, and a background in international travel for green coffee purchasing as well as extensive experience as a creative director in charge of branding direction, marketing, architecture and consulting for the hospitality industry
At heart, Jon is a visionary whose creativity in entrepreneurship work in tandem with a strong passion to understand how products, social environments, and digital assets impact people and their financial responsibility. He has also focused deeply on exploring the intersection of philosophy and communication in the way we serve others.
Outside of his career, Jon is deeply invested in his family and community. Jon lives on a small farm in Northwest Arkansas with his wife, USBC winner Andrea Allen, and their two daughters, River and Abishai. He’s admirer of British entertainment, avid in exercise, cooking for his family, and reading philosophy, science fiction, and fantasy novels.
Federico Gallia
CEO of Ryoma MC SPA
Federico Gallia was born in Milan in 1980, a city known for its vibrant fashion scene, rich history, and as the financial capital of Italy. Growing up in this dynamic environment, Federico was inspired by the city’s spirit of innovation and its strong ties to business and culture.
He pursued business and financial studies at Università Cattolica di Milano, where he developed a deep interest in sustainable technologies and global trade. After graduation, he began his career at Ernst & Young as a consultant, working across various industries in Europe and the USA, primarily focusing on financial processes.
In 2011, he joined the coffee industry as the CEO of Ryoma, a global leader in coffee machine production. Under his leadership, Ryoma Group has become known for its exceptional quality and ethical practices. Federico continues to push the boundaries of innovation, leading Ryoma with passion and a strong commitment to sustainability.
Outside of his professional life, Federico is devoted to his family. He is a passionate AC Milan fan, loves traveling the globe to discover new cultures and countries, and enjoys the sun at Playa des Cavallet in Ibiza whenever possible.
Federico earned his MBA diploma from Bocconi University, one of Milan’s most prestigious academic institutions, further cementing his connection to his hometown.
Hide Izaki
CEO of Izaki Coffee Holdings Inc.
In 2014, he became the first Asian to win the World Barista Championship. As a coffee business consultant, he has worked with major F&B chains, including Luckin Coffee in China, SPC Group in Korea, and McDonald’s Japan, providing end-to-end consulting from product development to marketing. His mission is to create delightful coffee experiences worldwide, leading him to collaborate with national confectionary brands like Calbee, Lotte, and Fujiya, transcending traditional coffee boundaries. He is also the founder of Cokuun, a renowned Coffee Omakase establishment, recognized globally for elevating specialty coffee through a fine dining concept, with collaborations extending to luxury resorts and brands. Additionally, he collaborates with celebrity chef, Hisato Hamada known as WAGYUMAFIA to craft coffee experiences for VIPs worldwide, viewing coffee as a broader culinary experience and conveying its appeal to diverse audiences. Actively engaged in SDGs-related projects, he leads the Proud Liberica Project in the Philippines, which focuses on creating new revenue streams for farmers through innovative use of coffee by-products. Since 2016, he has actively contributed to the Specialty Coffee Association, serving on the WCE Qualified Testing Committee, WCE DC Policy Committee, and SCA CSC Committee, and acting as an Emcee for WCC events.
Sunalini N. Menon
President of Coffeelab Limited
Sunalini Menon has grown up in coffee since her post graduation in Food Technology from the University of Madras, India in 1972. She has spent more than 50 years in coffee in the arena of quality and has worked as a quality evaluator, trainer, coffee blender, developer of green coffee brands for the farmer, judge in coffee competitions, writer of coffee articles and even as a coffee guide to new coffee entrepreneurs. Her career commenced at the Coffee Board of India, where she was trained in the art and science of cupping and quality evaluation, not only becoming the first woman coffee taster in Asia, but also ultimately heading the Quality Control for Indian coffee at the Coffee Board of India, as the Director (Quality), where she helped in the formulation of quality standards for Indian coffee, besides launching speciality coffees to the world market.
In 1996, when the market for Indian coffee was liberalised, Sunalini helped in the setting up of a lab called ‘Coffeelab’ in Bangalore. This lab is the first of its kind to be established in the private sector in India, providing comprehensive quality related services not only for the Indian coffee industry, but also for coffees from various producing origins and consuming countries. The lab undertakes the training of personnel connected with coffee, coffee lovers and coffee consumers on the art and science of cupping.
Sunalini undertakes the evaluation and certification of coffee that is exported from India. She is associated with quality and quality related aspects of domestic coffees also and has been promoting the concept of quality in coffee over many years, making presentations and conducting workshops on coffee quality not only at International conferences, but also in coffee producing origins in Africa, Asia and the Americas, where she worked as a Coffee Corps Volunteer of the Coffee Quality Institute (CQI). In India, she has built a platform for training all in the coffee value chain on coffee quality, besides helping brands of green coffee of various coffee farms to be developed. She teaches at the ‘Masters Course on Coffee Science and Economics’ at the Universita del Café, Trieste under the Ernesto Illy Foundation and the University of Udine.
She has many awards to her credit, received from the Speciality Coffee Association of America, the CQI, the International Women’s Coffee Alliance (IWCA), USA, Speciality Coffee Association of Europe and also the First Lady Achievers Award from the President of India.
Sunalini is on the Board of Trustees of the CQI and was earlier an Independent Director of M/s. Tata Coffee Limited, Asia’s largest integrated coffee company, besides being the President of the Women’s Coffee Alliance – India Chapter of the IWCA.
From a Q grader to an R grader, Sunalini is a Q Processing Professional Robusta Instructor and is the President of Coffeelab Limited, Bangalore, India.
Luiz Roberto Saldanha
Director of Fazenda California, Capricornio Coffees, and Synapses Coffee Education
Luiz Roberto Saldanha Rodrigues is the owner of Fazenda Califórnia and co-founder and Director of Capricornio Coffees and Synapses Coffee Education. A leading coffee professional in Brazil, Luiz is an agronomic engineer with an MBA in Production Management and is currently a member of the Biotechnology research program from the Federal Technical University of Paraná. He is a certified Q-Grader, a Q-Processing Level 3 Expert, Q Processing Instructor, and a National and International Judge for the Cup of Excellence Program (COE).
His journey with specialty coffees began in 2004, with the implementation of a sustainable management system in the centenary Fazenda Califórnia. His work and leadership played a crucial role in the development of the specialty coffee chain in Paraná State, mainly focused on small farmers and familiar agriculture, leading to the Geographical Indication of Origin recognition for the Norte Pioneiro do Paraná region in 2012 while serving as President of the Specialty Coffees Association of Norte Pioneiro do Paraná (ACENPP).
Luiz has also contributed to the coffee sector through roles on the Technical Committee on Coffee Sector of the Federation of Agriculture of Paraná (FAEP) and currently serves on the boards of the Brazilian Specialty Coffee Association (BSCA) and the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA). As an educator, has taught about farming and post harvest best practices in different countries like Brazil, Costa Rica, Colômbia, Austrália and South Korea.
Jessica Worden
Head of Coffee of GAIL’s Bakery
As a licensed Q-grader, Authorized SCA Trainer (AST), I bring over 15 years of commercial and operational experience in the specialty coffee industry. I lead coffee strategy as the Head of Coffee at GAIL's Bakery, a food-led business committed to scaling quality.
I've been instrumental in scaling both the commercial significance and operational excellence of specialty coffee from 3 bakeries to over 145. I’ve also developed and evolved training programs that have served as the career start to thousands while also offering professional development opportunities, including SCA Barista Skills certification.
Having started my career journey as a Barista, I focus on delivering sustainable commercial growth through a people-first mindset to foster the development of an inclusive coffee culture that celebrates care, service and an unwavering commitment to quality. As a passionate advocate for an inclusive coffee community, I regularly represent women, mothers, and the LGBTQ+ community in professional forums and community events, championing diversity within the industry. I also serve on the Advisory Board of Project Waterfall, a charity dedicated to providing clean water to coffee-growing communities.
Yi-Ling Wu
Manager of Beverage Research Institute at King Car Food Industrial Company and Vice Chairman of Taiwan Coffee Association
Yi-Ling was born in Taiwan. She is an optimistic, adventurous person who likes to travel and communicate with people. She majored in food science and engaged in beverage product research and development for KING CAR Group nearly 40 years.
The first time Yi-Ling touched coffee was to produce the first ready-to-drink coffee in Taiwan. She was attracted by coffee because of its various coffee knowledge, flavors and aroma. She traveled a lot to visit many coffee farms and met farmers as well as coffee lovers around the world.
From the above experiences, I realized how big the coffee world is. Then Yi-Ling gathered with many coffee people who have unlimited enthusiasm for coffee to found the Taiwan Coffee Association, which was the first Coffee Association in Taiwan 21 years ago.
The Association starts to introduce coffee knowledge tasting skills, the terminologies of the coffee industry, hosts coffee competitions, exhibitions. The coffee market grew on an amazing scale after the endeavors of the Association.
Since then, Yi-Ling has volunteered in participating in various coffee activities to promote coffee culture in Taiwan. She believe all the coffee events will influence people and the coffee industry. People will be connected together by coffee around the world．
Meet the 2nd Vice President Appointed by the SCA Board of Directors
Nadine Rasch
Founder and Director of Primavera Coffee
Born and raised in Guatemala, she spent much of her childhood on her family’s coffee farm. After studying & working in finance in the UK, she started working in coffee in 2012. Realizing the potential in the specialty coffee market, she returned to Guatemala to work on her family’s farm with coffees from other producers. In 2013 she founded Third Wave Coffee Source Ltd., now Primavera Coffee to connect the best coffees from Guatemala to roasters in Europe. In 2016 she opened La Central de Cafe, the sister exporting company in order to be completely vertically integrated. 2017 with a higher demand in the North American market the USA importing branch opens to share more of our coffees. Nadine is a Certified Q Grader and Q Processor.
Learn More About the 2024 SCA Elections
Learn More About the 2024 SCA Elections
Visit our SCA Elections page to learn more about the elections process, find out who on the board is cycling off this year, and for answers to frequently asked questions. Can’t find what you’re looking for? Contact us via email at elections@sca.coffee or via the contact form at the bottom of the page.